Apparently no news of the Supra at the Tokyo Motor Show! What a bummer.

Yep, that's what happens when the rumor mill runs amok. I imagine the car will officially come next year - that's when the Z4 is starting production. More than likely neither will be revealed until closer to their actual production dates.

Back in August, we saw a well-camouflaged 2019 Supra prototype prancing around with a pair of production LED headlights, featuring a thin LED strip for improved daylight visibility.

Now, we get to see the production taillights too, which have sort of a flattened "teardrop" graphic. It almost looks like a more modern take on the GT86's taillight graphics, which would make sense, although we can't be sure the GT86 served as a benchmark in any way.

In fact, there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new Supra, a car closely related to the new BMW Z4, though unlike the Z4, the Supra is rumored to only come with an automatic transmission.

Another fresh rumor suggests that the 2019 Supra won't even be badged as a Toyota, according to a report from Auto Express. In fact, it could be sold under the Gazoo Racing brand, acting as a launchpad for Toyota's high-performance Gazoo division.

"The Supra will be by Gazoo," stated Shigeki Tomoyama, the man in charge of the sub-brand, while Akio Toyoda himself insisted that the new Supra needed to be more aggressive than what was originally planned, a conclusion he arrived at after driving a pre-production model.

"The new car has to appeal to the existing owners first," said Toyoda. "The old cars had a straight-six engine, twin-turbochargers and rear-wheel drive; the new car has to have the same philosophy."

Expected to weigh between 1,200 kg and 1,500 kg (2,645-3,306 lbs), Gazoo Racing's Supra is reportedly being fine-tuned with the BMW M4 and Porsche 911 used as benchmarks.

Tomoyama, the man in charge of the sub-brand, while Akio Toyoda himself insisted that the new Supra needed to be more aggressive than what was originally planned, a conclusion he arrived at after driving a pre-production model.

"The new car has to appeal to the existing owners first," said Toyoda. "The old cars had a straight-six engine, twin-turbochargers and rear-wheel drive; the new car has to have the same philosophy."

Well that wasn't so subtle was it?

I would also point out - but please don't mistake this for any sort of prediction - the only twin turbo I6 BMW has right now is the S55.

Hmm, all good news above really. Sounds like they didn't like the original Supra idea much at all and perhaps went back to the old drawing board a bit (hence the delay and no word at the Tokyo show today maybe?). They just can't do an icon like the Supra incorrectly.

Hmm, all good news above really. Sounds like they didn't like the original Supra idea much at all and perhaps went back to the old drawing board a bit (hence the delay and no word at the Tokyo show today maybe?). They just can't do an icon like the Supra incorrectly.

Agreed - Toyota has too much invested in the Supra name to let it be anything other than a winner.

Toyota filing a patent for a better way to build an electric supercharger hints the company might put one into production.

A newly published patent from Toyota reveals the automaker’s work on an electric supercharger that would be easier to assemble and possibly more durable.

The explanation in the patent is highly technical and involves the assembly of the bearing that helps the turbo spin. Toyota’s idea uses a coil spring instead of plate springs. In addition to being easier to build, the new spring would apply more consistent pressure, which allows for better durability and higher performance when spinning at high speeds.

This document hints at several things about Toyota’s work. First, it shows that the company is at least looking internally at how electric superchargers work. Second, the patent indicates that development is far enough along for the automaker’s engineers to consider how they could build the parts better.

Toyota filed for this patent on May 8, 2015, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office published it on March 22, 2017. With access to this tech for so long, it’s possible that Toyota could begin incorporating it into production vehicles relatively soon.

The next-gen Toyota Supra is the first application that comes to mind for this tech. Many rumors indicate there could be a hybrid variant of the upcoming sports coupe. A boss at Toyota Motorsport GmbH also confirms that the engineers there are helping with an electrified engine that’s also turbocharged, but he doesn’t say whether the mill is for the new model. By using a motor to spin the impeller that sucks in air and compresses it into the cylinders, this patent could apply to that powertrain.

Audi already shows the promise of using electric supercharging on its latest SQ7 TDI. The extra assistance lets the 4.0-liter V8 diesel produce 429 horsepower (320 kilowatts) and 663.8 pound-feet (900 newton meters). It gets the big crossover to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in as little as 4.8 seconds.

There I was, just minding my business in downtown San Diego this AM when I saw what is rumored to be the BMW and Toyota collaboration that may be the next Supra. It was quiet, but sounded like an inline six.